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Participants engage in a dynamic dialogue on enhancing digital financial literacy for migrant workers and their families
A vibrant stakeholder consultation session on “Enhancing Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) for Migrant Workers & Families” took place on October 15th. LightCastle Partners and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) jointly led this session, with support from the Embassy of Switzerland. This marked the third session under the ‘Shafal – Remittance Management for Socio-economic Stability of Migrant Families’ program.
The first two sessions focused on how remitters and their families could use funds more efficiently and discussed innovative financial products to assist them.
In this third session, relevant stakeholders who work on or facilitate DFL gathered to understand current initiatives and explore strategies for better content and delivery. The discussion included contributions from:
The session began with LightCastle Partners presenting findings from the baseline study. They emphasized the need to enhance prerequisites for Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) and highlighted the mindset at the ground level.
Experts engaged in an open discussion to explore relevant content for migrant workers and their families. The representatives of Bangladesh Bank emphasized on the Financial Literacy Guidelines for Financial Institutions (FIs) that is currently serving as basis for DFL requirement. Development partners like ILO, OKUP, and BRAC Migration Programme also shared their interaction modalities with aspirants, migrant workers and families, and returnees.
Participants unanimously agreed that unified content could significantly benefit national efforts. More importantly, they stressed the need for a sustainable delivery method to ensure literacy campaigns continue after project completion.
When discussing dissemination strategies, representatives from 10 Minutes School noted that users prefer free literacy content. They emphasized the importance of audience segmentation, as it influences content type and delivery methods. A representative from City Bank suggested leveraging community leaders or role models to enhance retention. This was supported by representatives from TMSS, who emphasized the necessity of trust in these delivery methods. They also proposed a follow-up mechanism for participants to reach out with further questions.
BRAC Migration Program representatives pointed out key gaps in current Digital Financial Literacy (DFL) programs. They noted that most projects emphasize reintegration over safe migration. As a result, content often overlooks the user’s perspective and needs. A representative from BRAC MFI added that, despite the abundance of content, it lacks a clear objective and fails to reach the last mile.
To conclude the discussion, representatives from BMET, MoEWOE, and Bangladesh Bank proposed establishing a national-level committee to unify data for developing effective strategies and programs. They stressed the need for collaboration among organizations to address the data gap and support relevant ministries. They also mentioned that a landscaping study is essential before developing effective strategies.
Finally, participants agreed that DFL should be an essential skill for migrant workers. They suggested incorporating these modules into pre-departure orientations or partnering with Technical Training Centers (TTC).
The findings from this session will help UNCDF create relevant DFL content that enhances the asset-building capacity of migrant workers and their families. This will also contribute to developing a sustainable dissemination strategy with a long-term impact.
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